Feeling overwhelmed by all the skincare products? Unsure which influencer to trust? Don’t want to spend your money on a bunch of overpriced cremes and lotions that don’t work? That’s why I’ve put together the Ultimate Skincare Ranking.
Who am I? I’m Ashley, I run this website. I’m just a normal girl who spent too many years getting her skin under control and I just want to pass along my honest skincare opinions. Everything I rank will have been used for a substantial amount of time – most cases using the whole container of product, or using it until my skin has a reaction.
These rankings are based on my own experiences with the products, obviously your mileage may vary based on your skin type. I have dry, moderately sensitive skin that is very acne-prone and textured from decades of acne. I’m not allergic to fragrance, but I generally don’t appreciate it in facial products.
This list will be a perpetual work in progress, as products get reformulated, or something new and shiny comes on the market. So be sure to check back for updates!
Ah, yes, one more disclosure. I use affiliate links as an attempt to make back some server costs. This website is a passion project for me, and I guarantee that everything listed here, affiliate link or not, is based on my actual product usage.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may make a commission if you purchase from these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.
Now that the boring exposition is out of the way, let’s get to the…
Skincare Product Tier List
Tier List Legend
S Tier – Absolutely would repurchase, the best that I have encountered
A Tier – Would repurchase, but feel like there is a better product available
B Tier – Product worked fine, but wouldn’t repurchase
C Tier – Product didn’t seem to have benefits or detractors, or had both
D Tier – Product did not work for me, but might work for someone else
F Tier – Awful, don’t even bother wasting your money
Excellent Skincare Products
Neutrogena HydroBoost Water Cream
I cannot say enough good things about the Neutrogena HydroBoost moisturizers. I used the water cream specifically this past winter and I think it’s the first winter where my skin was not painfully dry at any point. I did put it on three times a day while going through the skiing / hot-tub gauntlet for a week, but my skin didn’t get nasty windburn and it also didn’t feel grossly greasy even with that many applications.
Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Hydrating Cleanser
Okay I am UPSET - as I was searching for a way to link this product, I have found out that it's discontinued. This was my S-Tier cleanser that I had been using at least since 2022! Whatever, it's on the list, I have one more bottle and then I guess the search will begin for a new one. I guess I'll also need to figure out how to section this post for discontinued products, but for now just read what I wrote and realize that I am bitter.
I’ve been using the Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Hydrating Cleanser for a few years at this point and that alone is enough to vault it into the S Tier. It gives the perfect level of cleansing – enough to make my skin feel clean, but not too much that it feels stripped. I also love the texture of the creamy formula (it also comes in a foaming version that I’ve never tried). Super simple, but sometimes that’s all you need.
Bioderma Sensibio Micelle Solution
I first came across the Bioderma Micelle Solution during the pandemic when my face was breaking out hard during masking. It was pitched as a great way to clean off the sweat / ickyness that would accumulate after wearing the mask for a while, without having to go through a whole cleanse cycle.
Post-pandemic it’s become the perfect makeup cleanser for when I have a light makeup day, or when I want to remove makeup in the evening but not go through my before bed routine. Paired with a reusable makeup cloth, it’s a great way to get a quick first pass of cleansing. If I have heavy eye makeup or foundation, I still prefer to use a cleansing balm, but I think the micellar water has earned its keep for a repurchase, and a slot on the S-Tier of skincare.
Trader Joe’s Coconut Body Butter
This review is maybe the first where my personal bias definitely factors in. I’ve bought the Trader Joe’s Coconut Body Butter for many years at this point. I really love it, but I also really love lotions that smell like I just put on sunscreen at a beach. So is this my favorite because it’s the best lotion on the market? Maybe not. Is it my favorite because I smell like beachy coconut paradise? Yes. In a truly unbiased review this might not be an S-Tier lotion. But this is “Ashley Reviews” and not “Unbiased reviews” so into S-Tier it goes!
It is also a good lotion, don’t get me wrong – a good scent alone wouldn’t be enough to repurchase it as many times as I have. It’s hydrating, it’s maybe a little greasy, but not too bad, especially for something with a thicker consistency. It has shea butter, which my favorite lotions historically have. I’d recommend trying it out if you find yourself at Trader Joe’s, as it’s affordable and works well. I’d especially recommend it if you are as obsessed with smelling like a coconut like I am.
Hero Mighty Patch Pimple Patches
I’m really jealous of everyone young enough to grow up with pimple patch technology. What I would have done to have a magical sticker that will clear out a whitehead overnight!
But, we have them now, and the Hero Mighty Patches are the best ones that I’ve tried. They’re the only ones that have successfully worked on both an already formed whitehead, an already popped whitehead (whoops), and those ones just under the skin that are super annoying that you know are going to turn into a whitehead in like two days but you can’t squeeze it because you don’t want to damage your skin more than it already has been but you can feel it there and it’s SO ANNOYING. The Mighty Patch has successfully tackled them all.
They’re also so easy and non-intrusive to use that I’ve actually gotten my husband to try them and that is truly amazing because he generally shuns any skincare I suggest. So now these are one of our household’s regular skincare products that I’m always repurchasing or stocking up on. Really highly recommend!
Laneige Sleeping Lip Mask
- Love love love love this stuff
- Keeps my lips soft
- Helps heal lips when they are dry and cracked from winter air
I’ve linked this lip mask a few times on various Prime Day or Black Friday sales because it’s a frequent flyer on Amazon sales. My holy grail lip mask, it can recover my lips from nasty cracking after sickness or winter sports. I’ve started to use it daily even in summer, and my lips are continually soft. Also: makes a great gift for ladies if you’re looking for something that will probably appeal to anyone. I’ve tried the berry and gummy bear scents (flavors?) and both are good and fairly non-offensive.
eos Cashmere Body Wash
I generally don’t feel that strongly about body wash as long as it doesn’t obviously dry my skin out. I picked up this eos body wash from a grocery store when I ran out of soap and I ended up really liking it. It doesn’t dry out my skin, and it lathers really nicely. It’s also available at a drugstore price, which makes it hard to beat. The coconut scent is a great bonus, although there were quite a few scents that smell pretty nice. I’ve already repurchased it, and I don’t see another reason to try something different unless it’s out of stock.
Good Skincare Products
CeraVe Therapeutic Hand Cream
I’m really picky about hand creams. I need something that’s moisturizing, but not too sticky. I don’t mind fragrance, but I’m also very picky about what goes on my hands as I will be smelling it all day.
The CeraVe Therapeutic Hand Cream is almost perfect, but not quite, in a way that’s unfortunately hard to verbalize. I like its texture, it dries down fairly quickly, but maybe not enough? It seems to fit what I think my criteria would be for a good hand lotion, but it’s just fine. I’d purchase it again, but I think I’ll hold off in case I can find the perfect hand lotion. So it goes into A Tier, unless time proves that there really is nothing better on the market.
Topicals Faded
The Topicals Faded serum claims to fade post-blemish spots and other skin discoloration. Overall I had mixed results with this product. Sometimes a discoloration would seemingly shrink overnight, other times there wouldn’t be any difference after multiple applications. However, the times it did work, it worked amazingly. I stopped using it because I have less of the discoloration now that led me to try this serum (probably because I started using pimple patches religiously).
I would repurchase again and would recommend it with one caveat – it smells really gross. Like it smells like rotten eggs / sulfur. Luckily, it was tolerable unless I was applying it around my nose, but if you’re sensitive to smells I would not recommend this.
Decent Skincare Products
Proactiv Green Tea Moisturizer
I had a random sample size of this moisturizer that I got from one of those multi product Ulta freebie kits. I liked the gel consistency, it wasn’t greasy. It was perfect for when I ran out of my Neutrogena moisturizer and still needed to add something to my skin. No breakouts, nothing adverse, just not something I would purchase again. Also has a slight green tea fragrance which was fine but not my cup of tea.
Okay Skincare Products
Topicals Sealed Active Primer
My skin is fairly textured from years of acne, so this primer appealed to me as something that could hopefully fix that both temporarily and long term. I didn’t really like it as primer for makeup (plus the amount of times that I would go out with a full face was minimal) so I started using it more as a spot treatment for some deeper pits in my skin. I did see a reduction in the scar depth over time, but I didn’t really like the silicone feeling format of the product.
So it’s firmly in the mid-tier because I think I saw some longer term effects, but I didn’t like applying it or using it enough to repurchase or recommend. I’ll probably look for other products with similar active ingredients.
Hero Rescue Balm
Like many products on this list, I was enticed by the claims to minimize post blemish marks. Unfortunately I really didn’t see any difference when I used this. It didn’t seem to negatively affect my skin, but it also didn’t improve anything either. Thus, into the middle tier it goes.
Disliked Skincare Products
Kiehl’s Acne Clearing Solution
I liked the concept of this product a lot, but not the execution. The marketing declares it as an invisible pimple patch, which sounds awesome for when I don’t want to wear one because I’m not staying in the house all day. I didn’t think it worked that well on my acne spots and I really hated mostly everything else about it. It’s applied via a eye dropper like a serum, which makes it harder to really use it as a spot treatment. It also never really seemed to dry down at all, leaving my face feeling kind of sticky. So it was technically invisible, but I knew it was there the whole time.
I didn’t have a reaction or anything bad from this product, but that’s really the only thing that keeps it out of the bottom product tier.
Bad Skincare Products
Laneige Cream Skin
So I wasn’t planning on reviewing this product because I didn’t even get a useful sample size. I got one of those freebie foil packets from a Sephora purchase, which had like two uses of product. I had just run out of my Neutrogena moisturizer and I figured this would be fine to use until I got a replacement.
WRONG. I broke out so badly! Like multiple giant nasty pimples all along my cheeks. The Laneige Water Cream was literally the only thing different about my skincare routine that entire week. This wasn’t just a few pimples that could be stress related, either, this was a full on massive breakout.
Having a reaction to a sample size worth of product is definitely enough to put this in the bottom tier of skincare products.
Check Back for Skincare Ranking Updates!
If you scrolled all the way down here, you must really want to read honest product reviews. Consider following Ashley Reviews on Instagram, where new additions will be updated in picture form. Or, if you don’t want to be subject to the whims of the algorithm, sign up for the Ashley Reviews mailing list!
Ashley Reviews
Join the mailing list
Get honest reviews on beauty, travel, and everyday finds delivered straight to your inbox.
Powered by Buttondown
You’re in!
Thanks for subscribing! Check your inbox for a confirmation email — be sure to click the link to complete your sign-up.
Powered by Buttondown
